Times of the Islands Summer 2022

astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
Synopsis (part I)
Bermudians began systematically
collecting salt
by solar evaporation on
Salt Cay in 1673 and on
Grand Turk in 1678. There
were naturally occurring,
low-level depressions on
these islands—especially
on Salt Cay—that flooded
at high tide. Sun and wind
evaporated the water in
these depressions, leaving
salt behind. Bermudians
improved and expanded
these “ponds” in the late
1670s and salt collection
by solar evaporation
became an organized
enterprise.
Initially, Bermudians
occupied the Turks
Islands on a part time
basis—working the salt
ponds during the hot summer
months from March
to November. By 1764
they occupied the Islands
on a full-time basis.
Salt collection began on
South Caicos (Cockburn
Harbour) about 1848. By
1908, Cockburn Harbour
(a.k.a. East Harbour) had
400 acres devoted to salt
ponds, Grand Turk had
230 acres and Salt Cay
120.
The solar evaporation
process to produce salt
typically entailed moving
seawater through four shallow ponds until the water was
evaporated by the sun, leaving salt crystals behind. The
process ended in a salt “pan”— so named due to its small
size and shallow depth. This entire operation took 70 to
90 days. Salt was then ready to be raked.
Top: This postcard, circa 1905, shows workers raking salt at a salt pan and loading it onto donkey carts.
Bottom: This postcard depicts the salt shed owned by Frith Brothers & Co. on Grand Turk. The notation
“Burnt Down” was written on the card by George S. Frith. He mailed it to his brother Arthur G. Frith who
lived in Vancouver in 1906.
Salt production (part II)
From the salt pans, salt was transported by donkey carts
or wheelbarrows to outdoor storage piles near the shore
called “deposits” or to salt sheds.
Normal rainfall on these islands was 24.5 to 26
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